Venezuela and trade are the top agenda items on U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s tour through Latin America this week. While the state of Venezuela’s democracy is an urgent matter, U.S. commercial ties with the four countries on the itinerary could use a boost. Bilateral trade with each country—Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Panama—is the lowest it's been since 2010, despite U.S. free-trade agreements with all except Argentina. On the other hand, the United States has a trade surplus with each apart from Colombia, though the $762 million deficit with the Andean country in 2016 is a turnaround from the U.S. surpluses in 2014 and 2015.

AS/COA Online looks at the U.S. trade balance with the Latin American countries and some points of interest, from avocados to U.S. liquefied natural gas.